Penguin
by freak-4-God
Summary: It all started with a stuffed animal.


"You do realize that you call more attention to yourself the way you're skulking around, right?"

Zuko raised his head incrementally to send the snippy Water Tribe peasant a patented Disdainful Princely Glare. "I do not 'skulk,'" he told her flatly, "I just don't see why you insist on putting us all on display for the passing bounty hunter or Fire Nation agent."

"Well, unless you want to go hungry tonight, we need supplies, and this early in spring, Sokka's not having much luck hunting," Katara reminded him, politely refraining from adding that _Zuko's_ own hunting forays were less than successful. "The only logical thing to do is go to a market – and since this market is far enough behind Earth Kingdom lines, we don't really need to worry about Fire Nation agents or bounty hunters who know about the reward your sister has placed on your head."

Zuko hated to admit that she was right – so far, the only reward posters they had seen concerning their group were the ones for Aang and Toph (the latter supposedly kidnapped by the former – Zuko wondered what drunken idiot had made _that_ charge). The pair in question had agreed to play it safe, staying on the outskirts of town with Iroh and Appa, where Aang could make good use of the time by practicing with his two sifu.

Zuko would have declined accompanying the two Water Tribe children into market had his uncle not given him a Look.

"Whatever," Zuko muttered, again lowering his head so that his wide-brimmed hat concealed his scarred face.

Katara sighed irritably and let him do as he pleased.

An uneasy truce of necessity had been called between the pair, ever since Iroh agreed to become Aang's firebending teacher. Despite the bending duel that had sealed the alliance, however, their differences were far from settled.

At the very least, a grudging mutual respect now reigned between the two former enemies.

Katara poked through an assortment of dried gourd-fruit, wishing they could afford to purchase some of the more extravagant and tasty melons on display.

"Hey, Katara!" Both Zuko and Katara looked to the third member of their party, waving to them from the front of a stall a few paces down. "Check this out!" Sokka called, a huge grin on his face.

"Coming!"" Katara handed the stall-keeper three-coins for the whole lot of gourd fruit, swept them into her basket, and hurried to join her brother.

Zuko, having nothing better to do, followed her.

"Awwwww, not that stuff!" Sokka complained, his smile faltering somewhat as he inspected Katara's shopping basket, "It tastes like dirt!"

"You'd know," Zuko could not help observing.

Sokka glared darkly. "Stuff it, Princey," he snapped.

"Sokka, what did you want to show me?" Katara headed off the imminent pissing contest almost automatically – it was bizarre to realize how used she was to the way the two youths interacted.

"I found something I think you'd like," Sokka said, easily regaining his former jovial demeanor. He gestured to the interior of the semi-dark stall.

Curious, Katara entered. Her eyes adjusted almost immediately, and she discovered that she was surrounded by… "Toys?"

Kites colored like rainbows swooped from the ceiling. To her left and right, and in front of her, shelves upon shelves of lacquer and cloth dolls, stuffed animals of every species, games (some she recognized, other she did not), tops, miniature instruments and the like offered a dazzling display of temptation for any child.

"Not just any toy – look at this!" Sokka brushed past her (it really was a small stall). He bent down and retrieved something from one of the lower shelves, which he tossed into Katara's startled arms.

She gasped, then made a soft squeal of delight. Zuko, who had been hanging back, rolling his eyes at the immaturity of the two peasants, came forward to look over her shoulder.

Two almond-shaped eyes of ebony stared up at him unblinkingly from a white face that contrasted startlingly with the black that framed it. Zuko dead-panned. It was a stuffed animal. A stuffed penguin, if one wanted to be specific

"Reminds you of home, doesn't it?" Sokka asked warmly.

"Yes…" Katara breathed, her arms tightening ever-so-slightly around the soft body, her fingers absently playing with one of the velveteen flippers. "Remember, how the first thing Aang said to me was that he wanted to go penguin-sledding?"

"Yeah – I thought he was joking!" Sokka replied, pleased that his sister approved of his find.

Zuko saw it otherwise. He could have sworn Katara was close to tears. _'I'm seeing things,'_ he told himself, _'And besides, why should I care if she's homesick?'_

"Well, I bet it's pretty expensive, and besides," Katara laughed shortly, "we have a hard enough time getting everything to fit on Appa's back as it is. But thank you for showing it to me, Sokka."

"Hey, Katara – are you all right?" Sokka asked anxiously.

_'Now you realize it,'_ Zuko thought, rolling his eyes heaven-ward, _'Idiot.'_

"Of course, Sokka, don't be silly!" Katara placed the penguin in her brother's hands and turned to leave, slipping past Zuko before he could move aside. "We have to finish getting the rest of the supplies! Aang and the others are waiting for us." Without even waiting for them to follow, she hurried out into the street.

"Will I be wrapping this up for you?"

The two young men started, and whirled to find themselves face-to-face with a tall woman, whose dark brunette hair had been coiled into two buns on either side of her head. Her dark-painted lips were quirked up in a mysterious, knowing smile.

_'What is it, exactly, that she knows?'_ Zuko wondered.

"Nah, sorry – can't afford it," apologized Sokka, handing the stuffed penguin to the proprietress of the stall, "I just wanted to show it to my little sister."

"You're from the South Pole, am I right?" the woman observed coolly, accepting the toy, "I recognized the style of your boomerang."

"Yeah, we are." Sokka was a little surprised, but the woman hardly seemed threatening - she owned a _toy shop_ for La's sake.

"Ah – far from home, aren't you? At least she has you to count on," said the woman.

Sokka blushed slightly. "I try," he admitted, putting one hand behind his head.

The woman smiled, her grey-green eyes warming. "Of course. Have a good evening – I believe your sister is waiting for you."

"Huh? Oh yeah – bye!" Sokka turned and jogged out of the stall, his head turning side to side as he looked for Katara.

"Good evening," Zuko bid the woman shortly, turning on his heel.

"Take care of yourselves," she said quietly, "All of you."

Zuko paused, and looked back over his shoulder. The shopkeeper still held the penguin in her hands, and made no move to put it back.

_'I must be mad…'_ Zuko thought, turning to face her.

------------------------------------------------------------------

The first thing Katara saw when she woke up the next morning was a pair of beady black eyes staring at her from a ghostly white face.  
"EEEEEEEeeeeeeeee-_yyaaaaaaaaaaaaagggghhh~!"_

"Whoa!"

"Ack!"

"Huh? Are we under attack again?"

"Snurg-wha?!"

"Urrrrgh…"

After apologizing profusely to her companions for awakening them so rudely ("That's okay, Katara!" Aang piped, "It was time for us to get up anyway!" "Speak for yourself, Twinkle Toes," Toph grumbled, before sending him off to do push-ups with a boulder on his back), Katara sidled over to her bleary-eyed brother, grinning madly.

"That was sneaky of you, Sokka, but thanks!" she said, wrapping her arms around him and giving him a rib-cracking hug, "I love it!"

"Ow – hey!" Sokka, now more-or-less awake, nursed his tender torso. "What are you talking about, Katara?"

"Oh ha ha, very funny, Sokka," Katara said sarcastically; really, Sokka did not know when to let a joke just _die_. "You knew it reminded me of home, so you got it for me when my back was turned!"

"Huh?" Sokka managed, completely befuddled at this point.

"The penguin, Sokka, the one you showed me yesterday," Katara spelled out for him, bringing the topic of discussion into view, "He's so cute, and he really does make me think of Gran-Gran and the village and… everything else." She cradled the precious toy in her arms, knowing she was sounding and acting like a child and honestly did not care.

"Okay, that's great," Sokka replied, finally understanding just what the hell his sister had been babbling on about, "Only, I didn't buy that penguin for you – you hold the purse-strings, remember?"

"But, if you didn't, then…?" Katara trailed off, staring at him in confusion.

"I dunno," said Sokka with a shrug; had it been any later (and after breakfast), he might have been more willing to ponder the mysteries of the Universe and Stuffed Penguins with Katara, but for now, food was calling.

_'But if it wasn't Sokka, then it had to be…'_ Katara's gaze turned slowly to the only other member of their market expedition.

"What are you looking at, peasant?" Zuko asked snidely.

"Nothing!" Katara snapped automatically, turning her back to him with a huff. _'I must be mad, thinking that Zuko, of all people…'_

Zuko lowered his head, smiling a small mysteriously knowing smile as Katara stomped away, clutching the stuffed penguin to her chest.

He then blanched when he heard what she decided to name it.

P. S. – Katara named her new toy "Zuzudodlespandagopolopolis." ("Zuzu," for short)


End file.
